Pisanthraphobia (H2OVanoss and Others)

Chapter 10

It was his first day, and Bryce was excited. He had gotten a computerized message about two weeks after his 'interview', and he was supposed to go to the address they gave him for training.

He recognized the street, so he assumed it was near the McDonald's where he got his usual frozen coffee and bagel. His thoughts wandered to good as he drove to work, a happy tune wandering into his head.

As he travelled, many people around him whom he recognized gave him little waves or smiles. Where he lived everyone knew basically everyone, and it was a large community.

He had almost considered going to his neighbours for help with money, but he couldn't bring himself to take from them, not when they had worked for it. And that's when his (now) best friend had called him.

He supposed a change in scenery wouldn't be too bad, and secretly he yearned to break free from his simple and normal lifestyle. No one knew, but a long time ago he was bullied.

When he was young and naïve he didn't want to cause trouble or be hated even more, so he kept his mouth shut. He took the punches and the cruel words and the darkness of being locked into a room, his mind telling him that it was normal, that everything was okay. But maybe it wasn't.

He was older now, a man facing the wide world on his own. He no longer had parents to run home to or friends to lean on, and he was determined to pull himself together. He could do this.

Parking in an empty lot outside the building, he took a sip of his water and left the cup in the car (if he needed it he could come back later). The air was unusually frigid, so chills raced up his spine as he nervously made his way to the front doors.

The large wooden doors were nearly twice his height, and yet they somehow didn't look out of place. He knocked thrice on the door knocker and the tapped the bottom of the door with his shoe; yet another weird password. The doors swung open.

Unlike the location of his interview, the inside was bustling with people. They all wore the same style of shirt, similar to in Star Trek, but everyone had different colours or patterned, and some even seemed to glow.

He moved through the flow of people who only occasionally glanced as he ambled past, and made his way to a circular desk manned by what seemed to be three sisters, as they all looked very similar.

"Um, hey. I'm here for training?"

The woman looked up at him and suddenly brightened. She gave him a smile and clicked something on her computer.

"Name?"

"Bryce McQuaid, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well, my name is Linda. Please follow me."

She winked at him and stood up, guiding him past the elevator to the stairs. He didn't comment, but his eyes wandered as they walked, his gaze open but calculating.

They entered a large café area with a view of what seemed like the entire town. The walls were windows, and the circular structure made it even more open and welcoming.

They both went through the food line, and as they got to the end Bryce started to get out his wallet but stopped when Linda held up a hand and flashed her ID.

"Meals are paid for by the company, and you probably couldn't afford most of the things we have around here anyway. Let's go talk."

They pulled up chairs to a table on the left, and Bryce wondered if Linda had just made a joke about his income, but he tried not to be offended. It was only his first day, after all.

She pulled out a few papers and handed them to him to look through. He began chewing on a muffin as he read. The first was a document stating his pay and hours, as well as the different locations he might be working at.

The second was a long list in small font of every co-worker he had, and on the back was a his username and password for their websites login. There he could find the names and information of every patient, as well as general information about the company.

The third was a questionnaire about sizes and colours for his uniform, and he notices the colourful vests weren't included. She gave him a pen, so he started filling it out with the occasional glance to the packet he hadn't looked through yet.

"Just sign on the last page, you'll be informed of everything else at a later date."

The packet seemed to be almost a hundred pages long (it wasn't numbered), and he wondered just how much he needed to learn or memorize. Maybe this was a bit more than he was ready for, but he didn't have a choice. He needed this job.

Taking the pen, and elegant fountain pen with A Vision For You inscribed in dark purple on the ivory. It was cold in his hand, and he almost jerked back and dropped it because of its contrast with the room. Trying not to let his hand shake, he poised it above the page.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. This was it, he only had to sign, and he had the job. Shuddering, he signed, and he could almost feel the smile on Linda's face. However, when he looked up there wasn't one.

She collected the packet and put it away, and they continued to eat with the white noise of conversation diffusing the awkwardness. It was weirdly impersonal, but his shoulders relaxed the more the pointless conversation carried on.

When they had both finished, her before him, she showed him where to throw everything away and they moved to another floor. This area was like one giant room with doors along the walls opposing the staircase.

There were mats lining the floor, and it seemed like people were...sparring? People in all black suits were doing some sort of swift martial arts, their movements swift and precise.

He followed her through the room, watching in awe as they demonstrated various manoeuvres that he was sure he would never be able to pull off.

He turned his head after hearing something, and proceeded to barrel over someone. Smacking his head on the floor, he shut his eyes by instinct and mentally groaned. The dead silence  made him open them, and he almost screamed at the sight of the corpse before him.

His breathing sped up as blood seeped onto the mats, and he felt the meal he had just eaten rise up again. And suddenly, in a crescendo his hearing returned as the scene before him changed.

Linda crouched in front of him, hand on his shoulder, and a man in one of the suits was apologizing for not paying attention. Still shaken up from whatever had just happened, he cut the man off with his own apologies and struggled to stand.

The man offered his hand, and they both shared a laugh. Linda shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. It's only your first day, after all."